Key player in Cornwall handgun shipment pleads guilty

In this June 2018, file photo, Toronto Police Service Acting Inspector Don Belanger speaks during a news conference in Toronto. In front of the podium are the 60 handguns seized in Cornwall, Ont. as part of the joint investigation. A Scarborough man described as a key player in the smuggling operation has pleaded guilty to six charges. (Toronto Police Service/YouTube via Newswatch Group, File)

TORONTO – A key player in a shipment of semi-automatic handguns through Cornwall, destined for Toronto, has pleaded guilty to a half dozen charges.

Harris Poyser, 59, of Scarborough pled last week to six charges, including instructing the commission of an offence for the benefit of a criminal organization, importing firearms and possession of firearms for the purpose of trafficking, according to the Toronto Star.

Police seized 60 handguns from the trunk of a car during a traffic stop on McConnell Avenue on May 23, 2018. Fifty-nine of the guns were 9 mm semi-automatics and the other one was a .40-caliber semi-automatic.

A Toronto court heard last week the shipment of guns was part of a cross-border smuggling operation that sent guns north from Florida and unspecified contraband south. The guns were delivered to a home at 515 Oliver Lane in Cornwall, the Toronto Star reported.